Highland sorting out whether to allow golf carts, ATVs on city streets

The city of Highland is seeking public input on the issue of allowing golf carts and ATVs on city streets.

The issue has come up at least three times in the recent past, according to Highland Police Chief Chris Conrad, and he gave a presentation to the city council at their most recent meeting discussing the ramifications of such an ordinance.

State law prohibits the use of non-highway vehicles on state and U.S. highways and on any street with a speed limit over 35 mph. Non-highway vehicles generally include golf carts, side-by-side recreational vehicles and ATVs, and unless there is a city ordinance specifically allowing them, they cannot be operated on the street.

Conrad presented a map of Highland streets that shows how many state and U.S. highways go through town, as well as several city streets that could not be authorized for non-highway vehicles without a traffic study.

“Because of the way the town is set up, we could not legally let people (drive their vehicles) north of Highway 40,” Conrad said.

Instead, the city would have to create designated crossings for non-highway vehicles, possibly adding traffic control devices, many of which would require a traffic study at about $3,000 to $7,000 per street.

The law has been amended since it was first proposed, Conrad noted, so revisiting it isn’t a bad idea.

“The technology and safety issues are a lot different today than 13 years ago,” Conrad said.

If approved, the non-highway vehicles would have to meet certain requirements, including headlights, taillights, turn signals, rearview mirrors, seatbelts and a license.

The state intentionally left this option for individual municipalities to make their own decisions, Conrad said.

“It would be impossible to write a one-size-fits-all law on this because of the nuances of each community,” he said.

Conrad said he had spoken to public safety officials in Greenville, Breese and Salem, all of whom have ordinances allowing this kind of traffic.

“For them, it’s a non-issue,” he said. “They don’t have significant accidents or complaints ... There’s no reason to think Highland would be any different.”

In each town, he said, about 1 percent of the population has registered a non-highway vehicle for street use. The permits generally run about $35-50 a year, which covers the administrative cost, Conrad said.

But the difference is the way Highland was laid out, with a tangle of roads where it would be illegal for the vehicles to operate, Conrad said.

“For example, Walmart is on the far north end of town, and most of our residents are on the south end,” he said. “There is no legal way to get from the south end to Walmart on these vehicles.”

Opposing viewpoints offered

Some council members had reservations about the idea.

“Logistically, I don’t see how we can make it work like this,” said councilwoman Peggy Bellm. “The cost to research it and go through all the preparation ... for the small group of people who would want to use it, I don’t think it’s a good use of taxpayer dollars.”

Councilman John Hipskind said he believed the taxpayer cost of this program is “unjustifiable” given the probable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city’s finances. However, he suggested they might look into allowing street use of the vehicles within specific blocks and neighborhoods, without going throughout the city.

Map on city’s website, social media reaction mixed

The council opted to post the map and data on the city website and social media to gather public opinion on the issue before deciding how to proceed.

“This is still in a discussion phase,” Conrad said.

So far discussion on social media has been mixed. Some residents question whether it’s practical to allow these vehicles on city streets, while others would approve of side-by-side recreational vehicles but not golf carts ... or vice versa. Others have pointed out neighboring towns like Breese have easily incorporated them into their traffic.

The map has been posted online for the public to view. Comments may be directed to the city’s Facebook page or directly to Conrad.